Just like Wii Sports, Nintendo Switch Sports is best suited as a fun but shallow party game that you can pull out for friends and family in a pinch, although this time it's not quite as new as it was in 2006.
The games in Nintendo Switch Sports
You can play any of Switch Sports' six games including volleyball, badminton, bowling, soccer, chambara/sword fighting and tennis alone or with friends, both locally and online. They are all generally of high quality but pale in comparison to the 12 games that make up Wii Sports Resort when viewed as a whole. The game is fun when you're playing a quick tennis match against a bunch of NPCs or playing a few rounds of bowling alone, but Switch Sports is arguably at its best when you're playing in a room with other people and waving your arms and legs around like a maniac .
What is special about Nintendo Switch Sports
While I was standing relatively still during a badminton match against my mom and making only the minimal movements with the Joy-Con needed to trigger the on-screen movement, my mom lunged across the room to take a punch retort, shouldering each punch and ending up exhausted because she wasn't playing Switch Sports like a video game: she was playing it like a real game. When it came to bowling, my parents tended to walk towards the screen every time they threw the ball because the game's simplicity made the movements feel so natural, like playing a game of bowling in real life. The special spice that Wii Sports has always had to delight both serious gamers and the uninitiated is still there, and it's the simplicity of the motion controls that makes it a success.
The party
But to really test Switch Sports in its natural environment, you need a party. There are some of the usual headaches of properly connecting all the Joy-Cons. Every single game in the collection is instantly more fun in this environment. Chambara becomes a series of wild shots as spectators cheer, badminton emerges as an intense back-and-forth with neither player ready to accept defeat, and soccer becomes a mad sprint to the ball in order to win try to get in a few last-second headers before the clock hits zero.
The control
Some of the individual games are better than others when it comes to intuitive controls, volleyball in particular is the most difficult sport to learn and play. During a game, you are automatically shuffled between different positions, from server to setter to blocker. Your success depends almost entirely on working together with your teammate, as well-timed sets, jumps, and spikes result in stronger, harder-to-return shots. Once everyone gets the hang of it, it's a lot of fun and feels like you're working as a team, but the journey there isn't as instinctive as the other games.
Badmington
Badminton offers the most control and rewards underhand returns, smashes, birdie placement and finer executions. You can even hold down the trigger to unleash a drop shot, forcing your opponent to charge the net for you to birdie to the opposite corner of the court. The game is limited to two players at a time, but the often heated setbacks feel a lot more intense as a result. Badminton is also the only sport in the collection where you'll notice the Joy-Con's HD Rumble, precise haptic feedback you feel in your hand when the racquet is connected to the yardage.
Bowling
Bowling also gives you a high degree of control over the ball in Nintendo Switch Sports. But the real challenge lies in the special mode, which throws increasingly difficult obstacles in the way of your shot and will test even the best Wii bowlers. It also gives you the option to play with up to three friends at the same time, so everyone doesn't have to wait for the other to finish a frame - the result is messy and really fun. Unfortunately, the 100 pin bowling mode from Wii Sports Resort is nowhere to be found.
Football
Soccer is Nintendo Switch Sports' biggest disappointment. It plays like a slower, less flashy version of Rocket League. The ball is bigger than the players, and you spend most of a game running slowly across the field. 1v1 is generally just more enjoyable because the field is smaller, while 4v4 takes forever because the ball is constantly being changed. Also, it's surprising that only two human players can play at the same time, which prevents it from being a fun party game.
The leg loop
The physical edition of Nintendo Switch Sports comes with a leg strap, the same one that comes with Ring Fit Adventure. It costs more because of this addition, while the digital version is cheaper if you play without it. Honestly, it's recommended to buy the digital version. The only use for the leg strap in Switch Sports is in a shallow soccer shooting game that feels more like a gimmick than anything else. While Nintendo does say it will update Switch Sports this summer to allow you to use the leg strap in the full football game, its effectiveness in this limited mode makes it doubtful that it's worth the higher price point in the end.
Chambara's sword fight
Chambara's sword fights in Nintendo Switch Sports are the most intense fights in the series. Both fighters perform a sort of stilted dance, with one blocking while the other tries to break through his defenses with parallel slashes. If you've chosen the Charged Sword, more successful blocks result in a powerful and satisfying counter-attack, while Twin Sword wielders can swing their weapons in unison for a Zelda-like spinning attack that makes the generally somewhat clumsy handling worthwhile. While the motion controls don't always feel perfect, the fights can lead to memorable moments where you go from defensive to offensive in order to strike, so to speak. The loser just weirdly falls into a puddle of water.
Tennis
The Nintendo Switch Sports version of tennis is almost the same as in Wii Sports, and you can only play doubles, with other players or against NPCs, which makes it different from badminton's 1v1 matches. It also feels a lot more time-based than badminton, but it gives you the ability to slice and lob depending on how you hit the ball. These differences make it better suited to larger groups, but it feels shallow in comparison.
Online game
Switch Sports includes an online mode that allows you to unlock additional cosmetic options for your characters. Switch Sports is a party game where the character's appearance doesn't matter. Even if the online game doesn't work for some reason, it doesn't matter. The lack of depth in these games means that if you're not playing in a living room with friends, you might as well be playing against an NPC.
The game time
It's unlikely that Nintendo Switch Sports will take you more than an hour or two to play through everything Switch Sports has to offer with a bunch of friends. The game's simplicity makes it a good start for parties, but the choice of six sports falls short compared to Wii Sports Resort's 12 games. The lack of golf at launch is also sorely missed, but it's an exciting prospect to be heading back to the golf course.
Conclusion on Nintendo Switch Sports
Like Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort before it, Nintendo Switch Sports is at its best as a party game that you can play at any gathering when you need a quick dose of silly, active fun. The sparse mix of old and new sports may vary in quality, but Switch Sports largely sticks to what made its predecessors so memorable: intuitive motion controls, the ability to get a group of people moving with ease, and a great one Menu music that will stick in your head all day. Just don't expect to spend a lot of time on it before the novelty wears off. Nintendo Switch Sports successfully follows on from Wii Sports' party game magic, but quickly falls victim to a lack of depth that keeps it from being great.
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